Everybody Knows
by phoenix521
Summary: it's been a year since he left. since she left. since the last was left alone. two of them have come back together for an afternoon. who are they, and what will happen, now that everybody knows?


**a/n: yes, i'm back again. and with another (gasp) one-shot song-fic. this time things are set to "everybody knows" by the dixie chicks. and it's kinda long. actually, surprisingly long. i don't know how it happened. but it's good. i think it's quite good. but then again, i'm biased. usually i'd tell you what it's about, but i don't want to. so please read to find out! enjoy. oh, and i don't think i say this nearly enough: i don't own cowboy bebop. i never have and i never will. :(**

Everybody Knows_

* * *

_

_Tell me now, if you came sneaking up behind,  
Would you know me and see behind the smile?_

He wasn't sure if she would show. He wouldn't necessarily blame her if she didn't, but still, he kind of wanted to see her. Sitting in the diner on the corner of 5th Street, he stared out of the window where his tacky, shiny red booth sat, and lazily scanned the streets for her.

There were moments in his waiting where he wondered if he would even recognize her when, and if, she showed. It _had_ been over a year, and while people don't usually change much in such a short period, this year had felt like nearly a decade to him.

But he realized that he could never forget what she looked like. Her features were too original to be forgotten so easily. Hell, she could dye her hair, put in contacts, even gain weight and dress respectably, but he'd still remember her. Perhaps a smirk, or maybe a tear, but either way, there was no way to deny it: Faye Valentine simply could not be forgotten.

Looking away from the window, he picked up his cup of coffee and took a sip. It was starting to get cold, so he mentally groused. Setting the cup back down and glancing at his watch, he calculated the difference and realized he'd been waiting over an hour. Letting out a defeated sigh, he figured now more than ever that she really wasn't going to show. Pity, really, he had even gotten a present for her.

Reaching into his back pocket, he fished out his wallet and sifted through for the appropriate amount of woolongs to put down. Stopping for a moment, he had mixed feelings about the amount of money that was filled in his wallet. Yes, he now had money, _extra_ money, but what good was money if he had no one to share it with? He was learning the hard way that money really couldn't by happiness.

Setting the bills down on the table top, he began to slide out of the seat and leave. A jingle of bells at the front door caught his attention, but the woman in the doorway quickly garnished that attention for herself. He watched her push her sunglasses onto her head, which restrained the violet hair which now fell in layers down below her shoulders. She wore clothes that, while conservative, actually made her more attractive with the way they flattered her shape. In her hand was a small purse, and attitude still flowed out of every pore on her skin.

She must have noticed him because she sent a familiar smile his way. Completing his stand to prove he was a gentleman, he waited for her to near as he replied with a smile of his own.

When she was just a few feet in front of him, he gave her the once over, trying to gauge any differences the past year had brought on. He could tell that she was doing the same. And after a couple of awkward moments, the two quickly embraced in an equally awkward hug. Pushing away from each other, then, she smiled again.

"Hey old man. Long time, no see."

_I can change like colors on a wall.  
__Hoping no one else will find what lies beneath it all._

"I thought I told you not to call me 'old man'," he complained, secretly glad to hear the phrase.

"Well what am I supposed to call you, then? Mr. Black?"

"'Jet' will do just fine, Faye."

"Sure, _Jet_."

The two shared an appreciative laugh then, and they both sat down in the booth.

"You look good, I guess," he told her.

"You guess? You sure are a lady charmer, you know that?"

"Get off my back, woman."

"I guess you look okay, too," she told him as she looked him over again. She chuckled lightly as she realized he had tried to dress up for her. Or at least dress better than he normally did.

"For a minute there, I was afraid you weren't going to show," he told her.

"Hey, don't rush me, pal."

"I'm not rushing," he said, putting up his hands in mock surrender. "I'm just saying you could have at least called."

"Well I showed, didn't I? So all is forgiven."

A silence fell over the two, then, as they tried to discern how things were going to go. Maybe they'd yell at each other, or maybe they'd talk like civilized human beings. Or maybe they'd just sit in silence. Only time would tell.

Jet, finding the quiet highly uncomfortable, but not entirely sure if talking would help, reluctantly open his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the waitress.

"So I see she finally showed, eh?" She asked as she looked back and forth between the two.

Faye gave the woman a saucy stare, but the look went unnoticed.

"So, can I get ya anything, miss?"

"Well, Mable," Faye said as she read the waitress's name tag.

She didn't finish her sentence, though, because she felt a kick to her shin. Tossing an almost bewildered look at Jet, the obvious source of the kick, she then gave him a scowl and sat back in her seat.

"She'll just have some iced tea for now," he answered for her.

"One iced tea," Mable repeated. "And would you like some more coffee and a couple of menus, sir?"

"Yeah, thanks."

Nodding her head, the waitress ambled off. Once she was gone, Jet turned back to Faye and waited for her to speak.

"So, you don't see me for over a year, and the first thing you do is kick me?"

"It wasn't the first thing I did," Jet said about the technicality. "And that wasn't a kick. It was a nudge."

"Nudge, my ass. I was just going to let her know what was on my mind."

"Exactly," he told her.

The two stared each other down for a few seconds, and then broke out into laughter again.

"You sure haven't changed, Valentine."

"And you have? Well…you do have a few less hairs on that cueball head of yours."

"Hardy, har, har," he drawled.

"But I'm not the same Faye you used to know, Jet," she told him in all seriousness. "Not the same Faye at all."

_I think I hide it all so well._

"You could have fooled me," he told her, noticing her change in demeanor.

"Well, good then."

_Stepping out, everyone can see my face,  
__And all the things I can't erase from my life.  
__Everybody knows._

"Then by all means, Faye, tell me how you've changed," he challenged.

"Well, before you do that," Mable interrupted, "how about you order something?"

Both adults sighed at the woman's timing and quickly ordered something from the menus in front of them. They ended up ordering soup and sandwiches and french fries, and told Mable that they were in no hurry to get their meal.

After she had left, grumbling something about not getting paid enough to do this, Faye turned her attention back to the man in front of her. He wanted answers and she kind of owed that to him. After all, she did leave the man by himself on that old clunker he called a ship.

"So…how did you even find me?" She asked, trying to change the subject that she, herself brought up.

"Well," he began, aware that she was avoiding the question, "I did used to work for the ISSP, and I do have connections."

"Oh, right. Donelly, huh?"

"Nope, Bob."

"Ah," she nodded. "So…how long have you known where I lived?"

"Since you finally settled down."

Her eyes flickered up to his, actually shocked that he had kept up with her that well.

"You're not as hard to track as you think you are, Faye," he told her, noticing the look in her eyes.

_Standing out, so you won't forget my name.  
__That's the way we play this game, of life,  
__Everybody knows._

"Well then, Jet," she began, a bit of malice in her voice, "if you knew where I was this whole God damn time, then why did it take you over a year to call me?"

She watched him intently then, sure she had caught him in a lie or something worse. But he simply smiled at her, almost as if he was waiting for that question.

"Would you have come if I had called you before?"

Again he watched her, seeing the different thoughts and emotions warring just behind her sparkling, emerald eyes.

"That's what I thought," he answered for her. "You really want people to believe you're someone else, someone stronger than you are. But you forget, Faye, I've seen you at your low point. So while you may be able to fool everybody else, I don't think you could ever fool me."

Faye crossed her arms and held onto herself, then, as she realized that she was still just as flawed as ever. And no amount of make up and lies would be able to fool everyone in her life.

_Looking through the crowd, I search for something else.  
__But every time I turn around, I run into myself._

During the most recent bout of silence, Mable had brought their food and sat it down in front of them, muttering a half-hearted "enjoy", as she left them to their selves.

Neither ex-comrade said a word or looked at each other as they began to eat their meal. Jet took a slice of his sandwich and dipped it in his soup, while Faye simply dipped her spoon into her bowl.

The clank of silverware and the soft sounds of chewing filled the air between them, and it was several minutes more before either of them got up the courage to talk to one another.

"I…I didn't mean to run out on you like that, Jet," Faye whispered to him, almost afraid to say those words out loud.

Putting his finger full of fries back down on his plate, Jet looked up at her, not too surprised to see her eyes avoiding his. He sighed and took a drink of his coffee and gave Faye another glance over. When she had first strolled into the diner, he was sure that she was stronger than she had ever been. But looking at her now as she slowly chewed her sandwich, he had to wonder if this was how she looked when she was first thawed out. Perhaps she could still fool him, after all.

"Well, it's not like you accidentally tripped out of the Bebop and lost your way back," he told her curtly, not wishing to be mean, but not wishing to let her off the hook so easily, either.

"Fine. I meant to run out on you like that," she conceded with a flustered huff. "But can you blame me?"

"Yes, I can blame you Faye. I _do_ blame you, Faye."

She gasped at his words, then, wholly unaware that the ex-cop could actually be so tough with her. She was sure that she had him wrapped around her finger back when she was on the ship, though he would never admit that. It seemed as though she had lost her hold now, though.

"Ed left. Ein left. He left. My leg was busted up and you were the only one left. Heaven forbid I thought that you'd have a little more loyalty."

Casting her head downwards like a naughty child, Faye was upset by Jet's words, but amazed that there was no anger in his voice as he said them.

"I…I'm sorry, Jet. I just, God, I just couldn't stay there anymore, okay?"

"Just because he went off to do something stupid, didn't mean he didn't care," Jet told her, fully aware that the man who remained nameless was the sole reason she left.

"Don't defend him, Jet. He knew what he was doing, and he knew what was going to happen. He fucking stared me in the eyes and lied to me! "I'm not going there to die." That's what he said to me. Ha, what a crock. I'd take a shit on his grave if I ever found out where it was."

"Well, I guess daisies are the new 'shit', now, huh?" He asked her, as he was again rewarded with her surprised gasp.

_Here I stand, consumed with my surroundings,  
__Just another day, of everybody looking._

"You…you know about that, too?" She asked him, amazed by just how much he knew.

"Yeah, I do. Did you really think I was going to let you go off on you own? While camaraderie means nothing to you, I'm still attached to the word, myself."

She let what he said sink in for a second, and then the proverbial light bulb went off inside her head.

"You've been watching me the whole entire time, haven't you?"

"Well…"

"Through every fucking thing? Answer the question, _friend_."

"Okay, yes! But I wouldn't say 'watching you'. I'm not a stalker. I've just been watching out _for_ you."

"What am I, now? A little baby who needs her daddy?"

"No, Faye, you're a little girl trapped in a woman's body, _that's_ what you are, and as much as you like to play dress up and pretend you're 'all grown up', you're not. I've been around enough people in my lifetime to know when someone's trying to be something they're not!"

By now, other patrons in the diner had begun to look at the man with the mechanical arm and the violet-haired woman as their voices got increasingly louder. But it was nothing that said pair couldn't deal with. They had always drawn in some type of unwanted attention wherever they went.

"So," Faye began a minute later. "If I'm still just a little girl, then why did you just stand by and watch?"

"Because I'm not your father, Faye, and I'm not trying to be, either. And besides, you have to make you own mistakes if you're ever gonna learn."

"…Oh," she said dejectedly, though she couldn't place why she felt that way.

"But I wasn't going to let you flounder, so I hope you can be content with that."

He stared at her, waiting for her to look at him and see the truth in his face. And when her eyes finally made contact with his, she was forced to give a weak smile, since she knew he'd always keep his word.

Jet smiled back at her, then, and went back to his fries. Faye then went back to her sandwich and the awkwardness that they had found themselves steeped in earlier, had dissipated significantly.

"So, did you make it along okay?" Faye asked him around a mouthful of food.

"Yeah, I got by okay."

"Your leg?"

"It's metal now, too."

"WHAT?!" She shouted. "I didn't think you'd lose your whole leg!"

"Shut up, it was just a joke," he said as he laughed at her.

Scooting over to the edge of the seat, he pulled up both pant legs to reveal two pale and slightly hairy, fully human legs.

"You're a riot, Jet," Faye said as she still clutched her heart. "Well, at least it's good to see that you have hair _somewhere_"

"I hope your son balds prematurely," he told her.

"You'd be sad to know, then, that I have decided _not_ to bring children into this world."

"I think what you mean is that no man in his right mind would procreate with a crazy shrew like you," he told her, keeping their banter in play.

"Yeah, well, at least I'm not _stalking_ my former roommate."

"I told you I'm not stalking you."

"Potato, Potatoe."

"What?"

"Gah, nevermind."

_I swore they'd never see me cry,  
__You'll never see me cry._

"So what have you really been doing?" Jet asked as he pushed his empty plate aside.

"You've been watching me, haven't you?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Just answer the question," he said, exasperated with the woman.

"There's not much to tell, I guess," she began. "After I left, I held up in a hotel room for about a week."

"I was wondering where the money in my safe had gone," Jet muttered.

"And after that, I decided to get a job. I was a waitress at Sam's Seafood Shack for a while. I gave them the Bebop's dock number so they'd get off my back about an address. I was only there for about two months, though."

"Why'd you quit?"

"Let's just say that Sam's claws got him in trouble,"

"Ah," Jet said, wondering what she had done to the man. By the glint in her eye, it probably wasn't pretty.

"After that, I got another job working at Lacy's. You know, the big retail store in the mall? I work in the shoe department, which is heaven for a girl like me, and I actually…like the job."

"Faye Valentine? Has a steady job? That she likes?" Jet said with amused taunting. "I never thought such a day would arrive."

"Oh shove it, old man."

"What did I say about that?"

"Any way, I work on commission there, so I'm paid in relation to how much I sell, and in case you were wondering, I'm an amazing salesperson."

"Uh-huh."

"So, I make decent money and I've got a decent place to live. It's just a studio apartment, but I guess I don't need that much."

"I'm proud of you, Faye," Jet told her then. "For a little while, there, I was sure you'd be a mooch for the rest of your life."

"Well, in order to not disappoint, lunch is on you."

Again, laughter broke out among the two, and if on cue, Mable came by, asking if they wanted dessert. Faye ordered up a big slice of chocolate cake and a glass of milk, while Jet opted of a slice of apple pie. And as they waited for their sweets, the inevitable subject finally came up.

"So…did you ever see it on the news, or read it in the paper?" Jet softly asked her.

She didn't answer him immediately, but she knew instantly what he was referring to. Though He had been brought up in passing earlier, Faye wasn't sure that she could fully delve into that conversation just yet.

"…No, I didn't," she told him, the waiver in her voice barely hidden. "I didn't turn the vid screen on for over a month, and I've never been a big newspaper reader."

"Yeah," he said passively. "It was a big thing for a while. There was a lot of speculating, but no real answers. It's not like I expected them to know anything any way, but –"

"Stop it!" she practically shouted, tears already making her eyes sparkle. "I don't want to talk about this. I don't want to talk about _him_!"

_Stepping out, everyone can see my face,  
__And all the things I can't erase from my life,  
__Everybody knows._

"We don't have to, then," he assured her, not quite sure just how bad she had taken this.

"Thanks," she said as she sniffled nonchalantly.

And then there was Mable again, a growing staple in their lunch. She deposited their desserts on the table and told them to enjoy, but she meant it more this time around, as she noticed the puffiness of the young woman's eyes.

After a few bites of their food, Jet put down his for to tell her something that might have lightened the mood.

"Guess who found me a couple of months ago," he asked her.

"Do tell," she said, not in the mood to guess.

"Ed and the mutt. They came back."

"Really?" Faye asked, amazed to hear about the girl.

"Yeah. She showed up a couple of months ago with Ein, saying that she decided to leave her dad since he was too preoccupied with his job. Or at least, she said something to that effect."

"Poor Ed, her dad's still coping out on her, huh?"

"Unfortunately. But she seems okay and happy to be back. I didn't tell her that I was coming to see you today, though, because she would have attacked me until I let her come. I figured that I should overwhelm you as least as possible."

"Aw, you're too kind," Faye smirked.

"But the girl does want to see you. When I told her you had left, she was pretty upset. The girl looks up to you, you know."

"Well of course she would. I'm a great role model."

"…Sure you are," Jet said with much apprehension. "But you should come around more often. You should come around in general. She misses you. The mutt misses you. And I guess I kinda miss you, too."

"I guess I kinda, mind you this is after I've had a hard day, miss you, too. You were, after all, part of the only family I've had in the past long while."

"Well, me and the kid will be around if you need us. But even if you don't, we'll still be around."

_Standing out, so you won't forget my name.  
__That's the way we play this game, of life,  
__Everybody knows._

"I, uh…I have something for you," Jet told her as he put down his nearly empty coffee cup.

"You got me a present?" Faye asked as her eyes lit up. "And I didn't get you anything. Oh well, let me have it already."

"Are you sure you want it?" He asked her, not so sure she'd be pleased with the 'gift'.

"Stop being a jerk, Jet."

"As soon as you stop being one, too," he smirked.

Grabbing the box that sat on the seat next to him, he put it up on the table and slid it towards her. He saw her quizzical look as she eyed the box. He could almost hear the wheels turning inside her head, trying to figure out what could be inside. It was an old box, kind of like the ones that little Earth children would store baseball cards in back in the 1950's, but Faye couldn't understand why Jet would give her baseball cards.

"Well, you might as well open it," he said, an uncomfortable air in his voice now.

Nodding deftly, Faye pulled the box to her. Suddenly her palms where sweaty and she wasn't sure why she felt so unsure. But she continued on anyway and unhinged the little latch and spread her now shaking fingers around the edges. Taking in a deep breath, then, she lifted the lid and peered inside.

She then practically flung the box away from her when she saw what was, and glared poisoned daggers at Jet as the earlier subdued tears now refused to stop from falling. Jet simply stared back at her, not sure if he owed her an apology, and picked the box up from the floor, along with what fell out of it.

"What the hell, Jet! Why would you give that to me?!"

"Because he wanted you to have it."

"Well fuck him, then! And fuck you, too! He would _never_ want me to have that, and you know it!"

"Keep it down, Faye. And if you don't believe me, then look inside the box again."

"I'm not touching that thing!" She continued to shriek at him.

"Fine, then, I'll do it," he said as he pulled the offending object over to him.

Lifting the lid again, he pulled out a piece of paper, unfolded it, and pushed it towards her.

"He wrote it before he left."

"So?"

"Read it."

"No."

"Damnit, Faye, just read the God damn note."

Huffing at the man, she reluctantly picked up the note, easily remembering that distinguished handwriting that she had secretly emulated, time and time again. Scanning until she found her name, she began to mouth the words she read

'_And Faye. I guess by now you know I lied to you. But then again, I really didn't. I guess I had to die in order to live. It's not my fault if you didn't know that's what I meant. But still…I guess this means I'm dead. Well, I better be dead if you're reading this. I definitely don't need you to know about this while I'm still around. I know I'd never live it down. _

_Well, let me get to it, then. I'm not trying to be sentimental and I'm not trying to be, well, I'm not trying to be anything but me. I think I do an okay job with that…sometimes, at least. So, since this is my will, and since I'm feeling unusually generous, I'll will you something. Now you can never say that I never did anything nice for you. _

_I, uh…I want you to have my Jericho. It's kinda old and it's when it's really cold, the hammer sometimes jams, but I think it would look good on you. Besides, your Glock is a piece of shit, and you know it. Jericho's are good. They're trusty, they have good weight to them, and it's gotten me out of a lot of hard spots._

_I know it sound stupid, but I guess I mostly want you to have it so you can protect yourself. So _I _can protect you someway. I mean, I always had to bail your ass out of trouble anyway. But seriously, take care of yourself. I'm not around anymore to come to your rescue, Sleeping Beauty. _

_Oh, and in case you never knew it, I had a thing for you. Not a big thing, that's for sure…but _some_thing. I just thought I'd let you know, since it doesn't really matter anymore. But since I've put my patented 'Spike Spiegel Stamp of Approval' on you, that means you can't go out and date any fuck who crawls up out of the sewer. I mean it, shrew. Take care of yourself.'_

_You say I'll pay the price, that's a chance that I'll take.  
__Though you might think I'm telling lies,  
__I just call it getting by._

Faye stared at the letter in her hand, shaking visibly now. Scanning the note over and over again, looking for something, _anything_, all she ended up with was pure shock.

"See," Jet quietly said.

"He…he wrote this? He actually wrote this?" Faye asked, her voice so much more subdued then either of them would have guessed.

"He wasn't an uncaring ass all the time."

"Yeah, guess not," she trailed off.

Setting the paper down, she reached out and grabbed hold of the box again. Opening the lid, she allowed herself to look inside this time. She couldn't bring herself to actually touch it, but she admired the steel and memories with an implacable emotion.

"I can't take this," she whispered.

"He wants you to have it."

"He want's _nothing_, Jet. He's dead. He can't _want_ anything."

"You know what I mean."

"You wrote this. You wrote this letter."

"No, I didn't. I couldn't fake that chicken scratch if I tried."

"But why would he…"

"You read it, Faye. And even if you didn't read it, you know how he acted around you."

"Yeah, he acted like I was the fucking plague!"

"No, he acted like a kid with a crush."

Thrown off by Jet's comment, Faye fell against the back of the seat and covered her face with her hands. She felt like screaming until the whole building shook, but she even surprised herself when she kept it all inside. Instead, she let out a audible sigh and stared up at the ceiling.

"So you noticed it, too," she finally acknowledge, both Jet and the situation.

"Probably even before either of you did."

"Well, it doesn't really matter, does it?"

"I think it does," Jet leveled with her. "I think you're the one who finally woke him up. And who knows what would have happened if he was still around."

"Don't, Jet. Just…don't."

"Still, Faye."

"Yeah…I know."

Just then, they both noticed as Mable silently placed the bill on the table. She gave them both a comforting smile, and went on her way again.

"So are you going to take it with you?"

"…No."

"Well then, I'll just leave it at your place."

"Then I'll throw it away."

"No you won't," he easily called her bluff. "You would never get rid of the last tangible thing you have of him."

"Stop analyzing me," she told him as she sat forward again.

"Then stop lying to me. I think I've already told you once today. While you may be able to fool the world, you can't fool me."

"Damn you," she smirked at him as she finished off her cake.

_Stepping out, everyone can see my face,  
__And all the things I can't erase from my life,  
__Everybody knows._

"You better get your wallet out," Faye said as she waved the bill in front of Jet's face.

"And what if I said that I left my wallet at home?"

"Then I'd excuse myself to the ladies room, and you'd be stuck washing dishes."

"Some thanks I'd get."

"Well, you said you'd never let me flounder," she reminded him with a smile in her voice.

"I knew that was gonna come back to bite me in the ass," Jet muttered, as he put some money on the table.

"And when did you get rich?" Faye asked as she saw the multiple bills.

"Funny thing, it happened right about the time you left."

"Well isn't that something," Faye said in mock ignorance.

Again, Mable was there, taking up the money and asking for change.

"Keep the change, Mable," Jet told her.

"Well whoop-di-do, I've hit the jackpot," she drawled.

As she left, Faye and Jet chuckled at the older woman. In another time, she would have made a great member of the Bebop crew. Turning their attentions back to each other, Jet was the first to speak.

"Well, I guess it's time to go, then. I've got things to do," he told her as he put his napkin down.

"Oh, me too," Faye retorted. "I've got a busy life nowadays."

"Ha, I bet you do."

The ex-partners stood and slowly began to make their way out of the diner. As the walked through the door, the little jangle of the bell reminded Faye of something from even before she was born.

"Hey Jet," she said as the stood out on the sidewalk.

"Yeah?"

"I remember when I was little, people used to say that every time a bell ran, an angel got its wings. Do you…do you think that he…?"

"If he made it up to there, then yeah…I pretty sure he probably got the biggest, flashiest, most egotistical pair of wings they got."

They laughed heartily at the thought and Jet watched Faye as she clutched the box tightly to her chest. He hadn't remembered seeing her pick it up, but he was more than glad that she did.

_Standing out, so you won't forget my name,  
__That's the way we play this game, of life._

"So, I'll see you around then, right?" Jet asked her.

"My schedule is pretty busy," she began.

"Faye…"

"I'm just kidding, geez. You still docked in the same place?"

"Yep."

"Mind if I drop by Saturday?"

"I'd like that. And so would Ed. I won't tell her, though. I let you surprise her."

"Goody, goody."

They looked at each other, then, and realizing that it was that time to depart, they gave into that awkward hug again. They then stood around for a few seconds more, looking around nervously and knowing what to do, but not sure how they should do it. Finally, Faye was the first to walk away.

"Always ready to leave me, huh?"

"Suck it up, old man. I'll see you in a few days."

"Yeah, I'll see you. Be careful."

"I will. Besides, I have a little extra help, now," she said, referring to the box in her hand.

"So you do," Jet chuckled as he watched her turn around and walk away.

Doing the only thing left to do, he turned and began to walk away as well. He spared a quick glance behind him and smiled at her, relieved that she had looked back, too.

This definitely wasn't the way that he expected his lunch with Faye to go, but he was glad that something happened. And she had been right, she _had_ changed. Though the Faye Valentine he knew was still floating right below the surface, she was masking that scared child rather well. He had to commend her for that, but then again, she really didn't have a choice.

So he continued walking down the street, hands in his pockets, his gait reminiscent of a man he once knew. But he was just a memory, now. Hell, this whole life was nothing but a floating memory. That's the way they played the game, though, and that's how it would always be.

_Everybody knows._

_DON'T BE AFRAID TO STAND OUT,  
SPACE COWBOYS…_

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**and that's that. did you like it? i hope so. i'm kind of fond of how it came out. and it's a good song, too, so i guess that helped. oh, and did you noticed that a certain person's name went unmentioned the whole fic, save the time he mentioned it himself? i don't know how that worked out, but i think it makes for a nice effect. well thanks a ton for reading, and if you review (which i would like), be kind! that's it for now, then. thanks for stopping by!**

**phoenix**


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